Container cooling device

ABSTRACT

A container for beverages and other comestibles is provided with refrigerating means comprising a refrigerant cartridge within the container and held in position therein by a dual cap which is detachably secured to the container and fixedly secured to the refrigerant cartridge. The refrigerant cartridge holds a vapor phase refrigerant of low boiling point. Means is provided for puncturing the dual cap to release the vapor phase refrigerant from the cartridge to cool the beverage or other compestible within the container. After the beverage has been cooled within the container the dual cap may be released from the container whereby the dual cap and the refrigerant cartridge may be removed from the container.

United States Patent Mills [541 CONTAINER COOLING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Evan D. Mills, 507 Sourth Catalina Street, Los Angeles, Calif. 90005 [22] Filed: Dec. 21, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 100,138

52 Us. (:1 ..62/294, 62/371 [51] Int. Cl ..F25d 3/10 [58] Field of Search ..62/294, 371

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,257,821 6/l966 Warner ..62/37l 3,369,369 2/1968 Weiss ..62/371 3,494,143 2/1970 Barnett ..62/294 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye Attorney-J. Calvin Brown 51 Oct. 10,1972

[57] ABSTRACT A container for beverages and other comestibles is provided with refrigerating means comprising a refrigerant cartridge within the container and held in position therein by a dual cap which is detachably secured to the container and fixedly secured to the refrigerant cartridge. The refrigerant cartridge holds a vapor phase refrigerant of low boiling point. Means is provided for puncturing the dual cap to release the vapor phase refrigerant from the cartridge to cool the beverage or other compestible within the container. After the beverage has been cooled within the container the dual cap may be released from the container whereby the dual cap and the refrigerant cartridge may be removed from the container.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEBIIBI 10 I972 iii.

INVENTOR, EVAN D. MILLS:

ATTORNEY CONTAINER COOLING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Description of the Prior Art The prior art to which the present invention pertains and which is known to the inventor embraces such United States Pat. Nos. as Jacobs 3,326,013; Beck 3,494,142; Irwin 3,494,141; Palmer 2,773,358; Goldberg 2,757,5l7; and Barnett 3,494,143. All of the patents aforesaid utilize a specially constructed container for a liquid such as beer, soft drinks, etcetera, and a refrigerating means for the liquid which is posi tioned within the container, said refrigerating means comprising in the majority of cases a low boiling refrigerant such as Freon 12 or 22. Freon l2 and 22 are Dichlorodifluoromethane and Monochlorodifloromethane chemicals respectively.

The refrigerant means is positioned within the liquid container which liquid is to be chilled in various manners which require a special construction for the container or a special construction for the means for the refrigerant means which makes such a construction expensive to fabricate and expensive so far as sales is concerned as a container for the liquids is usually thrown away after consuming the liquid. With my invention I utilize a standard container or a container that has a simplified construction of the top and a dual type cap constructed and arranged to suspend and hold a refrigerant cartridge within the container and which dual type cap is removable from the container in much the same way as bottle caps are removable from a bot- Such a construction is, therefore, quite simple and does not render a container with refrigerant means expansive and the entirety may be easily disposed of.

SUMMARY The container for liquids may be of the usual standard type generally used for canned liquids such as soft drinks or beer and other beverages which require refrigeration for taste satisfaction. A cartridge for containing a refrigerant liquid of low boiling point whereby when the vapor is allowed to escape causes the cooling of the beverage, is secured at its upper end by a dual cap, the cap likewise, is adapted to close the top of the beverage holding container. The dual cap may be pierced or penetrated to allow the vapor phase of the refrigerant to be vented to the atmosphere and this venting causes the liquid in the container to be chilled within a short period of time, usually 30 seconds to 1 minute to a temperature of 40 F. The dual cap is detachable from the cover of the container whereby after refrigeration of the liquid therein, the cap carrying the refrigerant cartridge may be removed from the container and the beverage within the container made readily accessible either directly from the container or poured therefrom. The dual cap is conveniently formed from a metal such as aluminum and is provided with concentric corrugations. The inner corrugation is seamed to the mouth of the refrigerant cartridge and the outermost corrugation is detachably seamed to the top of the container. The area included centrally of the innermost corrugation of the cap is provided with a frangible portion and with an orifice plug. Means is provided whereby the frangible portion may be penetrated by a piercing point to allow the vapor of the refrigerant within the cartridge to escape through said orifice. No particular size for the refrigerant cartridge nor the size of the container for liquids is given as containers for liquids may be of various sizes dependent of course, upon the volume of the liquid contained within the container and the same is true forthe refrigerant cartridge.

An object of the invention is to provide a container for liquids with a beverage refrigerant cartridge which, while efficient, is at the same time simple of construction, inexpensive in cost of manufacture, permits a throwing away of the container and the refrigerant cartridge, which container with the refrigerant cartridge may be readily stacked within a given space for shipment or for storage and in which each individual container and its refrigerant cartridge is protected against damage and the liklihood of the escape of either the beverage or the refrigerant.

A further object is the provision of a container refrigerant cartridge wherein the container with its liquid beverage and the refrigerant cartridge may be simultaneously capped, ready for commercial distribution.

IN THE DRAWING:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, partially sectional side elevation of the complete device of the invention showing a refrigerant within a cartridge and a beverage surrounding the cartridge and within a container;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a container, refrigerant cartridge and a dual cap for sealing the cartridge and the container in working relationship with a plastic cap for enclosing the top of the container and dual cap, which plastic cap carries a piercing prong assembly;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, partially sectional view of the device of FIG. 1 showing the plastic cap removed from the container and the piercing prong in position to penetrate the center of the dual cap;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged diametric sectional and top perspective view of the dual cap;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, cross sectional view similar to the elements shown in FIG. 2 wherein the dual cap is lowered from the position of FIG. 2 for engagement with the top wall of the container and the lowering of the refrigerant cartridge within the container; and

FIG. 6 is a slightly modified construction from that of FIG. 5, wherein a plastic cap covers an orifice portion for the refrigerant cartridge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention includes a dual cap 1 adapted to seal the mouth of a refrigerant cartridge 2 and to seal the mouth of a container holding a beverage. The cap is dual in the sense that it seals or closes the mouths of both the cartridge and the container. The dual cap 1 is provided with at least two top annular corrugations 4 and 5 formed in a metal disk from a material such as aluminum. The inner wall or side 6 of corrugation 5 joins a flat plate portion 7 which plate is centrally provided with an inverted cup 8. The base 9 of the inverted cup is provided with a central dimple 10 extending toward the entrance or mouth of the cup at 11. The

construction of the dual cap provides two internal annular grooves at 12 and 13 and external annular grooves at 14 and 15, the groove 15 being formed by the wall 7 and the side wall of the inverted cup. The corrugated annular grooves provide the corrugation 4 with side walls 16 and 17 and annular corrugation 5 with side walls 6 and 18, as is customary construction for a corrugation, the side walls have ridges or crests and grooves, both external and internal as just described. The side wall 16 flares or curves outwardly at 19, being the marginal edge of the corrugation 4. It will be noted that the crests or ridges of the corrugations 4 and 5 lie in the same horizontal plane and the same is true for the grooves of said corrugations.

The cartridge 2 for refrigerant is of cylindrical form, that is to say, has a curved side wall 30, a closed base wall 31 and a neck 32 having an open mouth. The mouth of the neck is bent inwardly to provide an internal annular bead 33, it being noted that the neck is reduced in diameter from that of the side wall so as to taper inwardly to the bead. In the present construction, I have provided a base 40 secured to the side wall 41 by a metal joint. The top edge of the side wall 41 of the container is provided with an external bead 42, and the top member 43 for the container comprises an annular plate 44 having inner and outer substantially parallel vertical walls 45 and 46, the upper edges of which are curved inwardly and outwardly respectively, as shown at 47 and 48. The bead 42 is received with the curved edge 48 to provide a metal joint between the container and the cap when the parts are crimped. It is to be noted that the annular plate 44 is at an angle to the walls 45 and 46. This type of container is simple to fabricate, although any type of container as now used on the market may be used in the practice of the present invention, provided, of course, that the dual cap 1 fits or engages the same in such a manner as to enclose the beverage against leak from the container. It is usual to provide a plastic cap or cover for the upper end of the container which is illustrated in the drawings and designated as 50. A cap of this character protects the upper end of the container and, likewise, the dual cap 1. Thus the plastic cap 50 engages the container top sealing closely within the annular wall 46 and overlies the dual cap to prevent any displacement thereof from the container. In this regard the plastic cap 50 has an internal circular wall 51 which is carried by the top wall 52, the bottom of side wall 51 being open so as to be received in the annular groove 14 of the dual cap 1. Within the cap portion formed by the curved wall 51 and the top 52 and slidable therein and easily removable from the side wall 51, is a block 53 which may be formed of plastic. The bottom of the block is provided with an annular groove 54 and embedded in the block and extending above the top surface thereof is a piercing point or prong 55. The top 52 is provided internally and on the axis of the wall 51 with a plug 56 formed with a conical bore 57 for receiving the piercing point 55. The top of the block 53 is provided with an annular flange 58 which receives and confines the plug 56 and prevents the piercing point 55 from completely penetrating the plug and the top 52 of the cover 50. Groove 54 in the block 53 permits the fingers to enter and grip the knob portion 59 of the block for the purpose of removing the same from the portion 51.

It will be noted that an orifice plug 60 is positioned within the inverted cup 8. The orifice plug has two axial bores of different diameters, as shown at 61 and 62, the greater diameter bore being at the top and receiving the dimple 10.

FIG. 6 construction differs from the foregoing constructions of FIGS. 1 to 5 in that the inverted cup portion is provided with a seal cap 65, which cap may be removed as shown in FIG. 6 by dotted lines.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention described are as follows.

The cartridge 2 is formed of metal of high thermal conductivity and provided with a refrigerant of some form such as Freon 12 or 22 or similar refrigerant liquid. The amount of liquid refrigerant in the cartridge will depend upon the volume of beverage in the container and the extent to which it is to be cooled or refrigerated. Ordinarily the refrigerant liquid may vary from two to four ounces. After the refrigerant is in the cartridge, the cartridge is closed by the dual cap 1. The bead 33 at the mouth of the cartridge is received in the groove 12 of the inner corrugation 5. The corrugation is then crimped about the bead 33 to form a metal joint which is substantially fluid tight. The wall 7 having the inverted cup provided with an orifice, is sealed by the base of the inverted cup. The base 9 is frangible and provided with the dimple 10 and when the dimple is penetrated by the piercing point 55, the vapor from the liquid refrigerant escapes through the orifice to the atmosphere. The container 3 holds the beverage and when the refrigerant cartridge 2 is immersed within the beverage the dual cup and particularly the groove 13 then engages the head 47 of the container top. Corrugation 4 is the outermost corrugation and is crimped at the head 47 as shown in FIG. 5. This crimping joins the two metal portions so that this area is fluid tight. However, the wall portion at 19 flares outwardly and permits a suitable tool to engage this portion of the dual cap to lift or pry it from the bead 47 of the container top. It is to be observed from FIG. 1 that the block 53 carrying the piercing point 55 is removed from the portion 51 of the storage cap 50 and then inverted to the position shown in FIG. 3 to allow'penetration of the dimple and to establish communication through the orifices 61 and 62 in the orifice plug. As the refrigerant liquid in the cartridge has a low boiling point, the vapor or the refrigerant liquid tends to vaporize and in vaporizing removes heat from the beverage in the container. It has been found that the beverage is reduced in temperature to approximately 40 F. from room temperature in approximately 1 minute. The time in which the temperature is reduced in the beverage will depend, of course, upon the volume of the beverage and the amount of refrigerant liquid which vaporizes and the length of time of said vaporization. Therefore, the container 3 will be of a predetermined size or sizes and the refrigerant cartridge will, likewise, be of a definite size carrying refrigerant liquid in accordance with the volume of beverage to be chilled or refrigerated to a desired degree. As the refrigerant cartridge occupies space within the container the volume thereof reduces the volume of the beverage and, accordingly, the container may be of a larger size to compensate for this reduction in volume of the beverage. After the beverage has been refrigerated, the dual cap, as stated,

may be removed from the container top by prying the same upwardly and the dual cartridge can be removed from the container so that the beverage may be consumed either through the enlarged mouth of the top of the container or the beverage may be poured into a suitable tumbler or cup. As the construction is relatively cheap the container, cartridge and dual cap as well as the plastic cap 50 may be considered as a throw-away item.

In place of the container of the form shown in the several figures, the ordinary type of container used for beer, soft carbonated drinks and juices in cans may be utilized without modification other than that the dual cap 1 may be modified as to diameter so as to fit upon and close the container top and likewise carry the refrigerant cartridge.

Iclaim:

l. A container cooling device, comprising: a container closed at the bottom for holding a beverage, the container provided with a top having an annular wall, the upper edge of which is beaded, a cartridge having a mouth end for holding a low boiling point refrigerant positioned within the container and a dual cap comprising a disk formed with two annular concentric corrugated portions, the outer corrugation of which fits upon the beaded portion of the container top in fluid tight relationship therewith and the inner corrugation of which receives the mouth end of the cartridge in fluid tight relationship, a portion of the cap intermediate the inner corrugation being penetratable to release therethrough the vapor phase of the refrigerant to cause heat transfer and a cooling of the beverage within the container.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1, said portion of the cap intermediate the inner corrugation provided with an inverted cup portion, the base portion of which is penetratable.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2, said inverted cup provided with an orifice plug.

4. A container cooling device, comprising: a container having a closed base and a top having an enlarged central opening, the top having an annular wall having a beaded edge, a cartridge having a mouth provided with a beaded rim and a dual cap of disk form provided with outer and inner concentric annular corrugations; the cartridge adapted to hold a vapor phase refrigerant, said outermost annular corrugation being sealed and detachably crimped to the bead of the container top, and the innermost corrugation being crimped to the head of the cartridge rim, the area within the inner corrugation of the cap being closed and means whereby the cap at said closed portion may be penetrated to provided a vent for the vapor phase of the refrigerant and whereby the refrigerant cools the beverage within the container.

5. The device as set forth in claim 3, the base of the inverted cup provided with a dimple extending into the orifice plug.- 

1. A container cooling device, comprising: a container closed at the bottom for holding a beverage, the container provided with a top having an annular wall, the upper edge of which is beaded, a cartridge having a mouth end for holding a low boiling point refrigerant positioned within the container and a dual cap comprising a disk formed with two annular concentric corrugated portions, the outer corrugation of which fits upon the beaded portion of the container top in fluid tight relationship therewith and the inner corrugation of which receives the mouth end of the cartridge in fluid tight relationship, a porTion of the cap intermediate the inner corrugation being penetratable to release therethrough the vapor phase of the refrigerant to cause heat transfer and a cooling of the beverage within the container.
 2. The device as set forth in claim 1, said portion of the cap intermediate the inner corrugation provided with an inverted cup portion, the base portion of which is penetratable.
 3. The device as set forth in claim 2, said inverted cup provided with an orifice plug.
 4. A container cooling device, comprising: a container having a closed base and a top having an enlarged central opening, the top having an annular wall having a beaded edge, a cartridge having a mouth provided with a beaded rim and a dual cap of disk form provided with outer and inner concentric annular corrugations; the cartridge adapted to hold a vapor phase refrigerant, said outermost annular corrugation being sealed and detachably crimped to the bead of the container top, and the innermost corrugation being crimped to the bead of the cartridge rim, the area within the inner corrugation of the cap being closed and means whereby the cap at said closed portion may be penetrated to provided a vent for the vapor phase of the refrigerant and whereby the refrigerant cools the beverage within the container.
 5. The device as set forth in claim 3, the base of the inverted cup provided with a dimple extending into the orifice plug. 